Al Qadsiah’s Ghana gamble delivers €5m return without a single appearance

Al Qadsiah have agreed to sell Ghanaian forward Jerry Afriyie to Belgian club Genk for €6m, completing a remarkable deal that has brought the Saudi club a €5m profit despite the player never making a first-team appearance for them.

The Saudi Pro League side signed Afriyie in the winter of 2025 when he was only 18. He arrived from Ghanaian second-tier club Thoots for a fee of less than €1m.

Just two days after completing the transfer, Al Qadsiah sent Afriyie on loan to Spanish club Deportivo Lugo for the remainder of the season. The move was intended to give the young striker regular first-team football away from his new club.

Afriyie returned to Al Qadsiah at the end of that loan spell but did not feature for the Saudi Arabian side. Instead, he was sent out again, this time joining Belgian club La Louviere on a season-long loan.

According to respected journalist Ben Jacobs, Al Qadsiah have now agreed a permanent transfer that will take Afriyie to Genk during the current summer transfer window. The fee is reported to be €6m.

The 19-year-old impressed during the previous Belgian league campaign, making 25 appearances for La Louviere. He scored five goals and provided one assist during his time with the club.

The move means Al Qadsiah will have made approximately €5m from Afriyie in the space of 18 months, equivalent to around 21m Saudi riyals, without the Ghanaian forward playing a single minute for them.

Afriyie’s transfer is another example of Al Qadsiah’s approach to recruiting young players with the potential to increase in value. The club have previously made a substantial profit on Argentine midfielder Equi Fernandez.

Fernandez joined Al Qadsiah from Boca Juniors last summer for less than €19m. After just one year, the Saudi club sold him to Bayer Leverkusen for €25m.

The transactions involving Afriyie and Fernandez underline Al Qadsiah’s willingness to send new signings out on loan before deciding whether to retain them or sell them at a higher value. In Afriyie’s case, the club’s investment has produced a significant financial return even though he never represented them on the pitch.

The Ghanaian now has the opportunity to continue his development with Genk after his productive loan spell at La Louviere, while Al Qadsiah have secured a sizeable profit from a player they recruited as an 18-year-old from Ghana’s second tier.